


Convenient Bonds

by vague_darkness666



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Mobuhan, PTSD, Self Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, Ymir Lives, also keith x theo lol, also porco is warhammer, eremin and erejean are happening but separately, eren is not evil, eruri - Freeform, falbi - Freeform, finally sum good ymir and porky brotp content, hitchannie, ill explain later, im doing mikapikku yay, it's not eren/armin/jean, its eren/jean and eren/armin, just read this trash, mikannie - Freeform, nah there's no erefloch, past kruver, pieckan, reiner and ymir r disaster gays, take a shot everytime I impulsively include a crack ship, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2020-12-09 03:18:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20987960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vague_darkness666/pseuds/vague_darkness666
Summary: "Now, what is the worst case scenario you have ever faced during a mission?""Reiner's general existence.""Ymir, that's not an applicable answer.""In a world where everyone is out to get you, the only thing you can hold on to is siblings and girlfriends.""Excuse me, girlfriends? Does this imply you're cheating on me?" Mikasa asked slowly.Pieck stumbled in shock.This was the first time someone hadn't replied with "Exactly right."Not everyone comes out of hell. Those who do become imprinted.





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Yes pls read this trashy fic I'm hungry 4 attention

A gentle hand ran over her face. However, the tenderness of the touch didn’t fail to alarm her in the slightest.

A swift punch unexpectedly hit Pieck in the face as she was knocked backwards, immediately falling in a startled Colt’s arms. Her recent titan excursions contributing to her legs’ unwillingness to stay straight, she fell to the ground.  
“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” Colt grunted.  
“Huh?” 

Ymir asked, aggressively rubbing her eyes. She had started to regain her senses. It was an unfamiliar room, dimly lit with a few candles. The only people present besides her were the short brunette girl she had seen with Reiner and Bertholdt earlier and a sweaty blond boy.  
“What the fuck?” she asked again, glaring at the two.  
“Ymir, right?” asked the girl, smiling serenely. “I’m Pieck.”  
“Who?”  
“I’m a warrior. That is, someone with the Power of the Titans. Like you.”  
“Power of the Titans?” Ymir repeated, scratching her forehead. “Where the fuck am I?”  
“Marley,” Colt replied with a valiant effort to keep his breathing steady.

“Ymir, you…”  
Queen Historia Reiss ran her soft palm firmly around the cold window sill. Her body felt so cold that it didn’t matter. She couldn’t stand the thought of the love of her life in the jaws of a ruthless titan.  
“Come back...please.”

“Where is Reiner? And Bertholdt?” Ymir demanded.  
Colt grimaced as Pieck stared back at Ymir, her expression tired and grim.  
“Reiner...he...no...you can’t see him...not right now...he...”  
Ymir stared down at the shorter girl, her eyes dark.  
“I can see my fucking best friend any time I want. Get out of my way.”  
She sidelined Pieck and pushed the door open.  
“Ymir, no!”  
Pieck called out to her but she was already out of sight.  
“You should have told her,” Colt said in a small voice.  
“I...couldn’t. I couldn’t tell her. I can’t get those words out of my mouth. It was my fault, after all.”

Ymir slammed open door after door. Finally, behind one, sat Reiner, head bowed down, staring at his lap, a bunch of whiskey bottles on his table.  
She grabbed him by the collars, shaking him violently.  
“Reiner! What the fuck is going on?”  
Reiner slowly raised his head and looked at her.

Ymir’s grip on Reiner’s collar faded slowly as shock widened her eyes.

Reiner’s eyes were dead. Eye circles clouding them, there was no life inside.

This was not the Reiner she knew.

Reiner’s head sunk into Ymir’s shoulder. Ymir trembled. It couldn’t be.

It fucking couldn’t be.

Not him. Not Bert.

“Don’t die,” Ymir said offhandedly, punching her best friends on the shoulders.  
“Oh come on, Ymir,” Bertholdt laughed. “We’re gonna be OK.”  
“Are you sure you want Christa to know you’ll be executed?” Reiner asked concernedly. Ymir sighed and turned her back to them.  
“She’d come trying to get me if she knew the truth. It’s the only choice I have. I’ll go back to her when...when the time is right. And it’s Historia, not Christa. Seriously, Rei Rei, weren’t you the one proposing her to marry you every second?”  
“Ymir, don’t say things like that!” Bertholdt said, visibly offended. “Reiner does not want to marry Historia.”  
“Relax, Bert, she’s mine, so Rei Rei will have to marry you anyway.”  
Ymir’s booming laugh was cut short as the two boys gave her a swift back hug.  
“Fucking titans!” Ymir said with affectionate annoyance as the three of them laughed together.

Little did they know, it would be their last laugh together.

“No.”  
Reiner didn’t say anything. His dry tears said it all for him. Ymir’s hand went numb on his head.  
She felt a soft pressure on her hand. Pieck was looking grimly down at him.  
“Ymir.”

She couldn’t even shed a tear as she left Reiner alone with Pieck, her feet weighing down with grief and shock.  
“Hey!”  
Ymir looked in front of her to see a blond boy, about her age, in the same uniform she had seen Pieck in.  
“You’re the new Jaws?” he asked darkly.  
Ymir didn’t answer. She couldn’t think straight. Well, she could never think straight, anyway.  
“Porco Galliard.”  
“Marcel’s brother.”  
She recalled a fleeting conversation with Reiner. 

“Pock!”  
Pieck came out of Reiner’s room, shutting the door behind her.  
“Didn’t you receive the memo from Commander Magath?”  
“I did,” Porco replied coolly.  
“Then come on,”Pieck motioned him, “your training,” she said to Ymir, “it’ll begin next week.”  
Ymir stared after them.

If anything were to happen to Historia…  
Reiner was the only one who came back. Him, Zeke and Pieck. He was the only one she could rely on to have useful information about Historia. And the only thing they had shared was a hug.  
A painful hug.  
She didn’t know whether Historia even got her letter.  
The letter was all true but for one thing.  
She couldn’t let Historia know she was alive. Or she’d come here to get Ymir back.  
It was too dangerous.  
The blanket absorbed the sweat and tears on Ymir’s face. She was worried and she was in pain. Reiner had been drinking. She couldn’t imagine how he felt. Bertholdt was gone. And he was never coming back.  
“I’ll kill them,” she muttered against the blanket, the wings of freedom emblem swishing in front of her eyes, clouded by the scorching flames of hatred. 

“No, Bert, don’t...it’s still not morning...get off…”  
The mug slipped from Pieck’s hands.  
“Hey, be careful!” Porco said quietly, swiping down quickly to grab it. “You’ll wake him.”  
Reiner was sleeping after a week. Porco drew the curtains and sat down next to Pieck.

“Are you sure they...I mean, Bert and Annie...they’re dead? I mean, you know Reiner...he gets like this...no one saw Bert getting killed!”  
“Porco…” Pieck looked at him. “They were enemy soldiers. This is a war. You can't expect them to let any one of us off easy. I think...I think he’s been eaten.”  
“You don’t know that!”  
Pieck pressed his shoulder.  
“To be honest, I’d rather think that than imagine him being tortured by those...devils.”  
“What about Annie? Didn’t the Commander say she was alive?”  
Pieck closed her eyes.

“Warchief!”  
Even in the dark there was no mistaking it. Reiner and Bertholdt, with a tall girl behind them, inching closer.  
Reiner collapsed on the ship deck.  
“Oh, you’re back?” Zeke asked. “What about the Founder?”  
Pieck desperately wanted to ask about Annie but she kept her mouth shut. She could almost hear Zeke saying: “This is a warzone, not a date ground.”  
But Pieck had no interest in wars.

“Where is she?” The Cart Titan’s hard voice hit Reiner and Bertholdt like a sword in the nape.  
“We...we don’t know.”

Zeke beat the shit out of Reiner for protesting to save Annie, wherever she was. Pieck wanted to say, she wanted to yell that she was with Reiner and they should rescue Annie, but she couldn’t say it.

“Pieck.”  
“I’m sorry,” she said dimly. “I know you miss him.”  
Porco grunted.  
“Marcel, he...I miss him, too.”  
Porco didn’t say anything.  
“I wanted to hate her,” he said with a slight choke in his voice, “but honestly, I couldn’t. That girl, Ymir, I can’t hate her. She’s been through a lot. And it wasn’t really her fault, was it? It's just, the blood of Ymir...it..."  
Pieck nodded grimly.  
“If only we didn’t have to carry this burden.”

Ymir hadn’t talked to Reiner in a few days since he came back. She sat alone at the dining table when she saw Porco come into the room.  
He sat down next to Ymir who didn’t look at him.

“You hate me, don’t you?”  
Ymir was frowning and staring down.  
“No, I don’t.”  
“I ate your brother.”  
“It wasn’t your fault.”  
Ymir sighed.  
“Reiner...he told me about you and a girl...Christa?”  
“Historia.” Ymir said shortly.  
“Yeah, Historia. So, you two were pretty good friends, right?”  
Ymir looked at him, somewhere between disgust and pity.  
“We’re gay, Porky.”  
Porco was shocked for a moment. Of course, he knew Ymir and this Christa...no, Historia were dating but he didn’t experience Ymir to snap back like that. It reminded him of the time he had teased Reiner after he came back, saying something he didn’t recall now, all of it blurred with the grief of losing his brother and his friend.

“Yes, we’re very gay, Pock.”

“Haha, I know.”  
Ymir shook her head.  
“I heard Reiner hit up on her?”  
“He was in the no homo phase.”  
“Really? How did that happen?”  
“I don’t know,” Ymir decided not to tell Porco of Reiner’s trauma regarding Marcel’s demise.  
“You have plans...to see her again?”  
Ymir nodded.  
“How?”  
“I don’t know. But one day, I will.”

“Historia!”  
Historia was shaken out of her thoughts by a panting Mikasa, holding on to her door.  
“Mikasa! Is everything OK?”  
“Historia, it’s them.”  
“Who?”  
“Your Imperial Majesty”, a guard intervened, shoving Mikasa aside. “The titans are attacking. Four of them. The Armoured and Cart Titans have reached Maria. They are accompanied by a smaller titan who wreaked havoc around Shiganshina. We’ve evacuated, but…”  
“A smaller titan…?”


	2. Confrontation

“I understand.”  
“Oh thank god,” Eren sighed in relief, finally taking his eyes off Mikasa’s blades, strapped firmly to her uniform. “I thought you’d…”  
“Eren Yeager,” she cut him off, “I love you but if you do anything to hurt Armin you will have me to answer to me.”  
“Geez,” Eren cowered shakily, “I thought you wanted to protect me, eh, Mikasa?”  
“I’ll protect you from the world but I can’t protect you from me.” She said darkly.  
“No one understands me,” Eren blabbered in frustration.   
"Your sudden feelings of attraction to your 'rival' are not my concern," Mikasa's voice grew colder. "Have you tried talking to Armin about this? You did tell him about this, didn't you?"  
"Might have mentioned it," Eren scratched his head. "But I didn't tell him who it was."  
"He's OK with it, right?"  
"Yeah, but..."  
"Then it's fine."  
Eren grimaced.   
"How's Historia holding up?" he was shaken out of his shameful feelings as he thought of his mourning friend, only to be distracted by Jean passing by, noticing neither Eren nor Mikasa.  
"Not fine," Mikasa sighed. "Not everyone..."  
"Not everyone is you," Eren finished her sentence, trying to keep his hands' shaking to a minimum.  
"Yeah." Mikasa bowed her head.  
"I just...I just couldn't have imagined it, y'know, Annie..."  
"Don't talk about her." Mikasa's voice glazed hatred over the top of searing pain she must have been feeling. Eren desisted. He didn't exactly feel like apologising. 

"Eren??? and JEAN!?!?"  
"Don't yell," Sasha reprimanded Connie, who was staring with his mouth open at Eren, who was conversing with Mikasa a few feet away.  
"Who told you???"  
"Armin. He said Eren told him he liked someone and his guess is that it's Jean."  
"But how did he guess that?" Connie hadn't taken his eyes off Eren.  
"Think about it, he's not into girls, so that leaves Jean and you. Of course he's not into you-"  
"Hey, you don't know that!"  
"Shut up, Conn," Sasha said patronisingly. "Of course it can't be Floch, so it's obviously Jean!"  
"But Sash! They hate each other! It's got to be Floch!"  
"And why would Eren want to bone Floch? Didn't he insult his boyfriend at the ceremony?"  
"Jean and Eren don't have a pleasant history either-"  
"Hey!"  
Both Sasha and Connie screamed involuntarily as Jean suddenly walked up to them. Eren's eyes turned to Jean. They met for a fleeting moment and Eren hastily looked away. Mikasa smirked slightly, putting Jean off.  
"What are you nutjobs doing? Might wanna get to work? The Commander wants some files done."  
"Oh, do they?" Sasha asked, flustered. "Well, come on, Connie."  
They scuttled off, clearly embarrassed. Eren felt like he knew what was going on. His heart jumped as he and Jean stared at each other, each with different kinds of daggers in their eyes.  
Eren's heart violently jumped as he was forced out of his eye lock with Jean by the tender touch on his palm.  
"Hey!"  
"Armin!" Eren stared down at the shorter blond, trying to overcome his shaking.  
"How are you?" Armin kissed him on the cheek softly. Jean pretended to gag while Mikasa smiled at them. Eren looked at her and understood what she meant. Not that it was any help. He didn't recall getting into a more awkward situation.  
The only thing that could possibly make it more awkward was...

Eren looked to the right and to his horror, saw Levi standing in the corridor, arms folded and wearing one of his usual scowls.  
"Fine," he managed a forced smile, knowing that he was in for a lecture a few minutes later.  
Just as he had expected, Levi pointed to his back with his thumb and turned to leave.   
"I'll be back," he said resignedly, all the same not forgetting to stroke Armin's cheek with his thumb as he left to follow Levi, careful to not make eye contact with Levi. Of course he was pissed at their abundant display of PDA. They were responsible for Erwin's death, who also happened to be Levi's alleged partner.

"Erm..."  
"Don't forget your place, brat," Levi said shortly. "You're our difference between survival and extinction. Got that?"  
"Yes, Captain." Eren sighed.   
"Don't let me catch you slacking again. Dismissed."  
Thankfully, the Ackermans didn't have supernatural sight powers. Eren was sure Levi wouldn't exactly find him putting up his middle finger to his back very pleasant. He wouldn't normally do that, but his frustration and the amount of unresolved tension in him at the moment was insistent.

Meanwhile, Armin, Mikasa and Jean were having a very gossipy conversation.  
"Wait, does this mean he's breaking up with you?" Jean asked.  
"No, no, he's poly," Armin explained. "We're still dating. But he likes someone else, too."  
"Whose life does he wanna ruin next?" Jean asked. Mikasa and Armin looked at each other, trying to hold back their smirks.  
"Who knows," Mikasa said sheepishly.

Ymir opened her eyes slowly, letting them sting in the unusually warm morning air. She was too used to this hell of a place to flinch. Of course, waking up in an uncomfortable, cold bed had nothing in common with waking up in Historia's arms. Not much of a welcomed change, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice.  
The door creaked open.  
"Hey, fam," Porco entered. In a few months, he and Ymir had started to get along well, bonding as a result of their similar personalities, and of course, their hatred for Reiner's antics. "You coming?"  
"In a minute," she replied tiredly. "Did the Monkey dude summon us?"  
"Yeah, Warchief Zeke did, he said he wants to have a tactics session with us."  
"Tell me, does Zeke really have a thing for that Levi midget of the Survey Corps?"  
"The what?"  
"Didn't you know? The Paradis military branch?"  
"Oh yeah, I've heard him talk about a Levi Ackerman. But wasn't he torn to pieces by that dude? Pieck told me."  
"Well, it's Zeke. What do you expect? It'll be interesting to see them get along."  
Ymir's voice faded.  
"Are you worried about Historia?" Porco asked. "Whenever you talk about that island-"  
"It reminds me of her, yeah." Ymir sighed. "I AM worried about her. But I know them. They'll look after her. Mikasa, Eren, Armin, Connie-" her voice trailed off again, eyes staring mindlessly at the floor.  
"Come on," she got up abruptly and swung her jacket around her shoulders. "Don't wanna get into anymore lectures."

Reiner was missing out on another war discussion, curled up in blankets, his third glass of whiskey having been drunk.  
Desperately, he grabbed at the blankets, obsessively trying to catch a whiff of Bertholdt's impossible scent.   
He simply couldn't come to terms with his departure.  
He was tired of being forced to come to terms with everything.  
It was because of him that his only remaining close friend was living and there with him. He had begged Magath to keep Ymir as a warrior. Magath was sympathetic, but it would be foolish to expect such a generosity out of him.  
But he did it anyway.  
It hadn't been easy to cover up Ymir's covered. After days of trying to convince Calvi that Ymir was experienced with Jaws, that she could be trained as a warrior better than Porco, that she had inside information about the Walls, Magath had miraculously done it. Ymir had been accepted into the Warrior Unit.   
Reiner found comfort in knowing that she was there and he hadn't ran out of confidants.  
But he had lost Bert.  
The loss was irreparable.   
Reiner was young. He had barely experienced romance when it had been cruelly snatched away from him.  
Whose jaws, he wondered, had claimed Bert. And which of them had taken Annie.  
He didn't feel hatred. There was a time when he might have wanted to crush anyone who lay a hand on anyone he loved, but now, it felt like he had ran out of emotions. Loss after loss had made him numb.  
The loss of trust.  
The loss of love.  
The loss of identity.  
"I'm sorry," he whispered into the pillow, not knowing for sure who he was apologising to. 

"Ackermans?" Pieck asked sheepishly.  
"Yes, Pieck, Ackermans," Zeke said, "a dangerous race of titan experiment by-products which pose an imminent threat to-"  
Ymir snorted.  
"Not really," she commented offhandedly. "I don't see how you guys are so scared of Mikasa. Just don't try to kill Eren, but as that happens to be our...your main mission objective, you SHOULD be scared of Mikasa."  
A color flashed in Zeke's eyes.  
"Which one was Mikasa?" Pieck asked.  
"Black hair, ugly scarf, scar on her cheek, etc etc."  
"Ah, I remember. Yeah, I don't see why she could threaten us more than anyone else in the...uh...Scouting Legion."  
"The Ackermans are dangerous!" Zeke repeated. "That Levi..."  
Ymir and Porco side-eyed each other, smirking.  
"He's worth an entire battalion, at least!"  
"Just because you got beat up by him, Warchief, doesn't emphasise his strength, really."  
Zeke grimaced at Ymir.  
"You...well...anyway, as I was saying..."

Eren lay in bed, trying his best to think of ways he could drop subtle hints to Jean without being noticed by his superiors and making a fool of himself. Unfortunately his mind didn't comply. His relationship with Jean was nothing like his pre-dating bond with Armin. His only line of action was to go and make out with Jean and he would very conveniently return Eren's feelings.   
He stretched out, exposing his bare rear end. He had barely completed his usual breathing when he heard a blood curdling yell from behind.  
Jean was on the floor, gasping in what apparently seemed to be disgust.  
"For fuck's sake, put on some pants, Yeager!" he yelled, his cheeks crimson.  
Eren didn't answer. His own cheeks steaming, he just stared at Jean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> huh this is rly short, def gonna be sum good shit later. timeskip coming soon.


	3. Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changed the formatting to make it easier to read
> 
> tw self harm, underage drinking, underage smoking etc

The room became abruptly tense. Pieck’s stare on the table became more tense and her fingers’ clutch on each other became tighter. Porco began scratching the back of his head faster. Ymir sighed and put her cigarette back on the edge of her roughly torn lips. Reiner, however, said nothing. 

“So, we attack them?” Ymir asked finally.

“Yes.” Magath’s voice was brusque.

“But...but why aren’t we consulting…”

“See, Galliard, the thing is…” Magath closed his eyes. “I don’t trust Yeager.”

“I see your point,” Ymir said. “I don’t trust him, either. Do any of us?”

“But how did you arrive to that conclusion?” Porco’s voice rose a notch.

“Back in...back in Shiganshina,” Reiner said for the first time, his emotions incomprehensible, “he didn’t really...he just killed the soldiers. He didn’t make any attempt to take Eren.”

“I agree,” Pieck loosened her fingers, “he didn’t…” she paused, looking as if she would barf soon, “he could’ve grabbed Eren and escaped, but he didn’t. Instead, he…”

“He said he’d come to save him.” Porco finished. “OK, I got that. Let’s say he does have his own goals and motives, but why does that mean WE have to go charging in to Paradis?”

“Because, Galliard, we HAVE to obtain the Founder! If Zeke screws the plan up, we will be doomed! You Eldians will suffer the worst of consequences!”

“We understand, Commander,” Pieck said. “But didn’t the Warchief say he would devise a plan to attack the Island in four years?”

“And who’s to say he can’t prevent that from happening in four years?” Magath snapped. “We are in a war right now, thanks to Zeke, and I can’t let that happen! We can’t let that happen! The only way to do that is to obtain the Founder as quick as possible. And we’re doing that in no more than three years.”

“Agreed”, Reiner said. 

“Braun and uh...what was your last name again?”

“Reiss,” Ymir said defiantly.

“Braun and Reiss have inside information regarding the Walls. I want the two of you to file a report and devise the most foolproof plan possible to commence this operation, one which doesn’t involve pure titan force. Brief me when you’re done. And not a word of this to Zeke, understood?”

They nodded in unison.

Eren didn’t know what he was doing. All he knew was Jean’s obnoxious yet intoxicating scent burning all over his mouth, his chest, his thighs and his hair. Jean did seem to be taken aback for a moment as Eren, naked and drooling, had started to make out with out of the blue like that. Nevertheless, a few seconds later, Jean had kissed him back, savouring Eren’s taste as if it were water after a drought. Their skin, glazed by dirty sweat, rubbed against each other in passionate warmth. 

The hair on Eren’s body stood up, vibrations being sent down his spine. He had never quite enjoyed making out like this, It was like drinking after a very depressing day. Except, it wasn’t usually ecstasy he drowned in whenever he dared to sneak a bit of whiskey from the officer’s pantry.

“Kirstein! Yeager!”

Eren felt like all the blood had frozen in his veins. Jean’s lips roughly grazed his as they parted, the taller boy looking over his head, his arms shaking. 

No one was in the doorway.

“Oi! You lethargic brats!” Levi’s tired voice came again, presumably from the hallway. “Are you in there?”

Neither of them said a word.

There were footsteps in the distance. The boys sighed in relief as they turned to face each other in a haze of awkwardness.

“Jean, what’s that on your neck?” Connie said, munching on a sandwich at breakfast.

Jean’s cheeks crimsoned.

“Nothing.”

“You have hickeys!” Sasha announced unembrassedly.

“No I don’t! Shut up!”

Jean couldn’t find Eren anywhere in the Hall. Mikasa and Armin weren’t there either. Which proved to be fortunate later.

“Come on, Jean, you’re worse than Mikasa! She just threatened to kill me when I said she and Annie had something on their necks!”

“Well, unlike me, Mikasa and Annie were dating,” Jean attempted to cover up the shame. 

“Then why do you have…?”

“None of your fucking business!” Jean snapped.

Historia gulped another glass of wine, trying to forget the freckled girl who had changed her life. Wine had proved to be a rather weak drink. It reminded her of how Ymir used to get drunk and then drink bottle after bottle of wine, stolen carelessly from the pantry. When Historia would panic, she’d take another gulp and awkwardly kiss Historia in effort to make her taste the wine. 

Ymir was wine-sodden when they had sex for the first time. 

Cursing herself for such an avid display of foolishness, Historia let the glass drop to the floor. It crashed and the first drop in days caressed Historia’s tear-torn cheek.

Ymir walked around the Internment Zone, having been forced to babysit the next batch of potential warrior candidates. They were all incessently talkative and annoying, especially Reiner’s 8 year old cousin. All excpet for Colt’s socially awkward younger brother, Falco. 

“I’d let him inherit my titan,” Ymir thought to herself jokingly.

“Aunt Karina says smokers are bad people!” Gabi yelled and Ymir was forcefully reminded of Eren as he had once gone to a full-blown panic when Ymir had stolen Keith Shadis’s cigars. 

“Well, Aunt Karina is a bitch,” she replied carelessly. 

“Hey, don’t talk about Reiner’s mom like that!”

“Ah, she’s Reiner’s mom, eh? Well then she’s a certified bitch!”

“How could you say that? You’re friends with Mister Braun!” The boy called Udo protested, still quivering as the towering figure of Ymir glared down at him.

“Whatever, he’s still a bitch.”

“Hey, don’t smoke in front of the kids!”

Ymir turned to see Pieck and Porco strolling down the street. She smirked at them.

“Sorry,” she pressed her finger to the cigarette and tossed it away. 

“I wish I could do that.”

Falco had whispered but Ymir heard. He flinched as she inspected him. Then, out of the blue, she smiled. Not the harsh kind. The gentle kind. One so very uncharactersitic of Ymir.

“Well, anyway,” Porco continued, oblivous to what had just happened, “have you and Reiner...uh…?”

Ymir shook her head. 

The kids were staring intently at the three warriors. 

“Ah.” Porco put his hands inside his pockets. 

Armin sunk further into the blankets and also into Eren’s chest. Staying back in the dorm when they should’ve been at breakfast and roll call could be very questionable, but Eren didn’t feel like getting up and neither did Armin.

“You told Mikasa, didn’t you?”

Eren didn’t say anything. He continued to rub Armin’s neck.

“That’s a yes?”

Eren grimaced and closed his eyes.

“Armin.”

“Yes?”

“I...it’s Jean.”

“Well, can’t say I’m surprised.”

Eren sat up immediately, causing Armin to be pushed back on the bed.

“You knew?”

“Yeah.”

“But...but how?”

“Eren, I’m your boyfriend.”

Eren fell back, gazing into Armin’s eyes, feeling more comfortable than he was a few minutes ago.

“I love you.”

“Me too.”

Reiner watched the skin of his palm sew back together for the fifth time. Blood dripped from the dagger on the table. He picked it up and it slipped through his fingers.

He couldn’t take it. He never wanted to go back to that Hellhole ever again.

Bertholdt and Annie’s graveyard.

It would be so much easier if he hadn’t taken that curse upon him. He would probably be dead after the second or third he sliced his skin open.

Why had Marcel done that?

Why couldn’t anyone have mercy...for one last time?”

Bertholdt’s vague screams rang in his ears. He grabbed his head and let it bang furiously against the wall, dropping to the floor, still no tears willing to escape him. 

Pieck had taken to entertaining the children, giving Porco and Ymir time to talk about the new Paradis Island operation in confidence. They sat on a bench, looking over at the warrior traning ground.

“Hey, can I...uh...ask you about something?” Porco had suddenly gone tense.

“Yeah?”

“I mean, you know about this stuff, right?” He was shuffling his feet and his cheeks were scarlet. A clear sign of having it bad for someone, Ymir thought. Pieck? Porco seemed to be close with her. Could it be Colt? Well, as long as it wasn’t Zeke, Ymir was willing to help.

Ymir swung her arm around Porco’s shoulders.

“What is it, Pork Chops?”

“Uh, I like someone.”

“Who?”

“I think...I think I have a crush on Reiner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooh Im loving the angst. This is my first time writing erejean and im lovin that. pls comment and like tysm


	4. Deceleration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw PTSD

“Could it be?” Mikasa cut off Historia’s stutter, “HER titan?”

Historia’s eyes narrowed in compact fury, one Mikasa found herself more than familiar to. Her fists were quaking.

“Majesty?” asked the soldier tentatively.

Historia let out a very audible breath.

“Prepare my horse. I’m accompanying the Scouts. I want all troops relocated to Shiganshina to protect the citizens. Go!”

“Historia?” Mikasa asked, fully armed. “Are you sure…?”

“Duty first,” Historia managed a pained smile, having taken off her gown, revealing her to be already equipped with her gear.

“Wow,” Mikasa whispered, “do you always go around like this?”

“Of course! Come on, we can’t waste time! Where are Eren and Armin?”

“On their way,” replied Mikasa. 

Porco opened his eyes to find his face covered in sweat. His vision was dark, he realised, due to it being clasped against Reiner’s extremely muscular chest. He tried to get up, but Reiner’s huge, sweaty arms were still clasped around his waist.

“Damn,” he whispered to the soundly sleeping Reiner. “You huge titan!”

Reiner pulled him closer, with Porco frowning, flustered. The larger man buried his mouth in Porco’s head. He still smelled of drink and dust from the previous training session. 

Someone knocked on the door.

“Reiner! Porco! Are you two still sleeping?”

Ymir’s sharp voice made Reiner wake up with a slight quiver, loosening his grip on Porco.

“Ymir, is this revenge for third wheeling you and Historia?” he mumbled tiredly, stroking Porco’s bare back. “Let a man sleep.”

“We’re going on a stroll, you guys have to come, too.” Pieck’s calm voice said.

“Yeah, the Warrior Unit sticks together,” Ymir said sarcastically, “schedule your making out for later.”

“Ymir…” Reiner pleaded, softly smiling.

“Urgh, fine. But we’ll come back for you guys, you’d better be up!”

Reiner smiled and turned to face Porco, who was blushing. In three weeks of dating Reiner, he still couldn’t help being overwhelmed by how much nervous Reiner made him. Looking back at his animosity with Reiner in their training days, it felt so unreal.

Of course, Ymir had been a big help. It was like having an older sister in place of Marcel. She was nothing like him, but the affection and support was the same. If it weren’t for her, Porco reckoned he’d still be crushing on Reiner from the sidelines, helplessly pining for the oblivious idiot. 

He felt guilty about taking Bertholdt’s place but it had been almost three years and Reiner had changed. He was numb and detached from everything. Both Pieck and Ymir felt like it would be better for Reiner to move on. Porco had, of course, obliged. 

Ymir’s seemingly rash idea seemed to actually work. If it worked on Historia, it would work on Reiner, too, she said. And after an hour of force-feeding Reiner wine, Porco locked himself in Ymir’s room, biting his nails. Ymir had shrugged and said that Marleyan wine didn’t have what Paradisian wine had. 

But it wasn’t really about the wine, Porco found out. Reiner had come to Ymir’s room to vent. He did return Porco’s feelings, but the tears kept Porco shaking all the time in the closet.

“We don’t get nice things, huh?” Ymir had said, patting Reiner’s back, “but we take what we CAN get.”

We take what we can get.

“Hey,” Reiner whispered, shaking Porco out of his thoughts. “You with me?”

“When am I not?” Porco replied, brushing through Reiner’s mustache. It must have sounded incredibly romantic to Reiner, because he lent down and brushed his lips with Porco’s. Porco would usually break eye contact when Reiner stared at him, smiling in an incredibly stupid way, but this time, he stared right back as Reiner moved further towards him.

Fuck, they were gonna kiss, Porco thought, excitement swimming in his blood.

Reiner inched closer, feeling the slow ecstasy of it all.

“Reiner!”

He stopped.

The scream came from inside his head.

“Annie, Reiner!”

“You pieces of shit!”

“You damn traitors!”

Reiner’s face was stiff and he was no longer smiling.

“Reiner?” Porco asked, grabbing Reiner’s face in his palm.

“You didn’t save us!”

“I’m sorry,” Reiner whispered.

“Are you OK?” Porco asked again.

Reiner slowly removed Porco’s hand from his face.

“I think Ymir and Pieck would be waiting for us,” he said stiffly. “I’ll catch up with you.”

Porco sighed and got up, putting on his shirt and his jacket. 

“See you,” he said offhandedly.

Reiner buried his face in the pillow.

“Annie, Bert...I’m sorry…”

“Look who finally decided to join us!” Ymir said loudly as she saw Porco, hunching towards her and Pieck.

“Are you OK? You look pale,” Pieck said concernedly.

“I’m fine,” he attempted a smile that didn’t exactly convince Pieck.

“Where’s Reiner?” Ymir asked.  
“He’ll be here in a bit,” Porco said shortly.

“Ah, there he is,” Pieck said.

Reiner still looked tired and numb, having sloppily managed to pull his coat over his shirt. Ymir straightened it out for him.

“Honestly, Reiner,” she scoffed, “how difficult is getting dressed?”

Reiner gave her a tired smile.

“Oh, well, come on,” she shrugged, “so, Pork Chops, have you managed to inherit Reiner’s titan power yet?” Ymir was smirking.

Porco absolutely got what she was implying. Determined not to get into another uncomfortable situation, he retorted right back.

“You know what, Ymir, if Historia had titan powers you’d have inherited them a long time ago.”

Pieck laughed.

“True,” Ymir was still smirking. “But I don’t see any hickeys on Reiner. Come on, Porco, this is disappointing!”

Reiner stayed silent but he was smiling. Porco almost sighed out loud. 

“We’ll be leaving in two weeks,” Pieck said quietly.

“Yeah,” Ymir said, “finally.”

The silence that followed was heavy. Porco tentatively stroked Reiner’s hand, and squeezed it when Reiner gave no response. To his immense relief, Reiner’s grip on his hand became tighter. 

“Who’s that?” Ymir asked suddenly.

The three others looked in her direction. She was looking over at a woman, presumably a Marleyan, judging by her high demeanour and escort. She held her black hair in a bun and was wearing a black gown.

“Must be a Marleyan noble,” Porco shrugged. 

“No,” Pieck stopped in her tracks, “that’s Erin Tybur, of the Tybur family.”

“The Warhammer dudes?” Ymir asked, craning her neck to get a better view.  
“Yes”, Porco said spitefully. “But why are they here?”

“Must be visiting.”

Reiner hung back after dinner. Porco insisted on walking with him back to the barracks, but he deliberately delayed finishing his meal. At last, only him and Ymir remained, the latter carefully scanning the newspaper, occasionally sipping some beer.

“Hey, Ymir,” Reiner cleared his throat, “we need to talk.”

“What is it?” Ymir looked over the papers.

Reiner sighed. “I don’t think I can ever move on.”

“I thought that, too,” Ymir folded the newspaper and set it down, “I thought I’d forever stay trapped in the agony of those terrifying memories. But I did.”

“I hear them screaming,” Reiner held his head in his hands, “Bert...Annie...I…”

“Hey,” Ymir squeezed Reiner’s hand. “It’s OK. You’re gonna be OK!”

“How uncharacteristic of you,” Reiner said, setting his chin down on the table. Ymir smiled.

“Come on, Reiner, don’t expose me!”

“He deserves better.”

“Porco? He likes you Reiner, you like him, If you feel like you aren’t good enough for him, maybe try and work on yourself.”

“He wouldn’t be happy with me.”

“Exactly what I told myself when Historia confessed to me. Do you think my relationships have always been smooth? No! You can’t just wait around to die, you have a life, Reiner Braun!”

“I...I don’t know...I…”

“Hey,” Ymir said firmly, “you’re tired. Go to sleep. I’ll talk to you in the morning, kay? Don’t worry about it. We’re all here for you.”

“Thanks...Ymir.”

“And don’t you dare tell anyone I was nice to you! Got that?”

“Anything important?” Reiner gestured at the newspaper.

“Nothing. Just something about the Queen of Paradis sending a letter to Hizuru.”

“You know, you won’t find news of Historia through these…”

“I know. It’s not like she’s the queen of Paradis. Well, still, I can keep track of the Island. Somehow.”

“Goodnight, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night, Rei Rei.”

Porco was fidgeting around in his sheets when Reiner came back. He took off his coat and hung it on the chair, sitting down on the bed.

“Are you OK?” Porco asked uncertainly, caressing Reiner’s thighs.

Reiner let out a huffed breath.

“I am.” he replied. “I...I’m sorry for earlier.”

“No,” Porco shook his head. “Don’t you apologise to me.”

Reiner sank into the sheets and into Porco’s chest, letting the shorter man caress his back as he drifted into his first peaceful sleep in a long time.

He would always have them.

“It’s your call,” Magath said firmly, looking over at the four warriors.

“Ready?” said the Cart Titan’s voice.

“Yeah,” Porco said from inside the Cart’s armour. 

Reiner and Ymir nodded.

“Go.” Magath patted Reiner and Ymir’s shoulders. “I’m counting on you.”

The two nodded. 

Their encampment was just outside Wall Maria, camouflaged by thick trees. As they exited, they could see the massive wall in front of them, crested with the magnificent statue of Ymir’s oldest.

“Hey, Reiner,” Porco slid the window of the heavily packed armour. “Be careful.”

Reiner reached forward and kissed him.

“You too.”

“See you guys,” Pieck said before turning around to move to her designated spot.

Reiner shuddered as he extracted the dagger from his pocket.

Ymir slammed her hand on his shoulder. 

“You’re gonna be fine.” she said firmly, smiling. 

“We...we might run into...them.”

“We will,” Ymir sighed and readjusted the wireless chord.

“Porco, it’s Jaws. We’re about to transform.”

“Me and Pieck are in place. We’ll jump out as soon as you do.”

“Got that.”

“Ready, Reiner?”

“Yeah.”

There was a flash among the sharp sting of daggers and the dripping of blood and there stood the Armoured and Jaws titans.

Reiner began to climb the wall, Ymir on his back, her heart racing faster than her titan. Any moment, she might see Historia.

None of the soldiers tried to kill them. Ymir figured they’d be too inexperienced. It didn’t contribute to raising her spirits, though. She could see Reiner slowly losing his strength. Not that it was common of the Armoured titan itself, but Reiner was probably more concerned with the bad memories.

Pieck overlooked at the evacuation, taking place in a haze of panic and cries.

“It’s sad,” she sighed.

“Yeah…”

Reiner and Ymir had mostly taken to destroying the houses. They had planned on drawing out Eren rather than attacking him. But it didn’t seem to work, as after five hours, there was no sign of the Survey Corps.

“Can’t we just go in?” asked Porco frustratedly. 

“No, wait for them to come.” Pieck’s reply was patient.

“Yeah, well...Pieck…” Porco’s voice had suddenly gone dark. “It’s...it’s the Survey Corps!”

Pieck swung her head around.

Hundreds of soldiers on horseback and many of them flying through the buildings were racing towards Shiganshina. Between them stood the huge figure of the Attack Titan. 

“They’re here!” Pieck yelled at Reiner and Ymir, who were in close proximity.

“Ymir, switch!” Porco yelled.

The nape of Ymir’s titan burst out and she emerged, breathing heavily.

“Your turn, Reiner,” she patted his hand. “Good luck.”

Pulling her mask over her face, she ran towards one of the buildings. Her heart felt as if it’d burst out any moment. Historia was probably here, too, coming to kill her comrades.  
Ymir didn’t know what she was going to do.

“It’s the Cart Titan!” Armin yelled to Mikasa, who was right beside him as they crossed the Shiganshina Gate, “And there’s Reiner!”

“But...where is the other titan?” Jean asked.

“We’ll find it,” Historia said from the front, looking back at them. “I’ll find it.”

“Eren!” Armin shouted up at his boyfriend. “It’s your go!”

The Attack Titan nodded and made a run towards where Reiner was.

“The Founder’s coming at Reiner!” Porco yelled from his wireless.

“Let Reiner engage him,” Ymir whispered back, “it will be irresolute for a while.”  
“What about you? What if they find you?”

“I’m at one of the top floors, I can see them. Don’t worry. Concentrate on Reiner.”

Ymir couldn’t spot Historia anywhere. Nor had she seen any familiar faces yet. They must be keeping the Colossal titan as a surprise advantage, just like they were keeping Jaws. She needed to determine who it was, and quick. 

Eren and Reiner screamed and kicked at each other. Three of the Scouts were fighting Pieck, who was holding them off considerably well. 

“Hey, I’m going out!” Porco said between battle noises.

“Be careful, don’t do rash things, if something happens, tell me, OK? And watch out for the Ackermans!”

“I thought you said they weren’t a threat!”

“I was joking, dumbass!” Ymir scoffed. “Stay clear of them at all costs.”

“Hey, I’m a trained soldier!”

Porco exited Pieck’s armour and fired a smoke shell, giving him enough time to escape. He held his gun firmly in his hand and took a shot at the nearest soldier he saw.

As the red haired man fell to the ground with a bang, Porco turned a corner.

“Stop.”

He felt the back of his neck in contact with a sharp object.

“Turn around.”

Very slowly, he turned around to face his captor.

It was a short blond girl, her eyes ruthless, a sword gripped firmly in her hand which she was holding up to Porco’s neck.

From what he had heard about Historia, it could have been her, but the way Ymir described her, she wasn’t one to go out looking for conflict. No, it couldn’t be her. And besides, there couldn’t be one short blond girl in the world, could there? 

“Reiner is fighting with Eren,” she said slowly, “Jean, Connie and Captain Levi are fighting the four-legged titan. You must be the other one.”

She was referring to Jaws.

“Die,” her voice shook with loathing and anger as she aimed her blade at Porco, who managed to dodge. His panicked leg swipe hit the girl on the knee and she fell down. Porco aimed his gun at her. 

Ymir looked around, waiting for her turn and hoping for everyone’s safety, though it made her laugh at herself. 

“Bastard!” her wireless emitted an ever too familiar voice.

Ymir immediately turned to the window and froze.

“Historia!!!”

Historia looked up to see Mikasa, who swooped over her in a flash, pinning her down as the Marleyan man shot his gun. Her ears momentarily deafened as Mikasa pushed her further deep, her arms over the Queen’s face. 

Porco was on the ground, his equipment on the floor.

Ackerman.

Mikasa. Just as Ymir had described her. Black hair, a scarf and a cut on her cheek. The look of death in her eyes.

Well, he couldn’t miss it. He straightened his gun again.

Mikasa was about to swipe away with Historia when the Marleyan soldier’s equipment on the ground screamed.

“Porco! Stop!” Ymir yelled hysterically. “Don’t fucking shoot! Idiot!”

Porco’s grip on the gun loosened.

Historia’s heart skipped a beat.

It was her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhh...I feel I might have rushed with the Gallirei but I'm gonna develop the relationship better soon, it'll be angsty but they'll be happy I promise.  
Also Idk how technologically advanced Marley is but have this anyway  
Yeah I inserted my lady tybur name headcanon here  
Yes Floch dies


End file.
